


Jacob Two-Two and the Camping Companion

by Katiebug586



Series: Jacob Two-Two and the Anthology Album [9]
Category: Jacob Two-Two - All Media Types
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Boys Kissing, Camping, First Kiss, Gay, Gay Pride, Jacob and Buford are like 13 or 14 in this btw, Jacord, LGBTQ Character, Love Confessions, M/M, Robot, Time to write a new Jacob Two-Two fanfic- oh no I made Jacord angst again, camping trip, cyborg
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-08
Updated: 2020-04-08
Packaged: 2021-03-02 02:08:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,530
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23547403
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Katiebug586/pseuds/Katiebug586
Summary: Jacob and Buford go camping.One-shot set after 'Jacob Two-Two and the Mechanical Misery'.
Relationships: Jacob/Buford
Series: Jacob Two-Two and the Anthology Album [9]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1549141
Kudos: 3





	Jacob Two-Two and the Camping Companion

Buford absolutely  _ hated _ this, absolutely  _ despised _ it in all of its entirety. There were so many other big words he could use to describe how much he  _ loathed _ being a half-human half-robot  _ freak, _ but these would have to do.

How long had it been? He’d practically lost count. Had it been a year? A few months? Did it really matter, though? It wasn’t like anything was going to change the longer this went on. In fact, it’d probably only get  _ even worse. _

Having metal instead of skin felt  _ so weird. _ Oh, yea, he could still feel with it, just like it was actually skin, but it somehow felt even worse than not being able to feel at all, just like a prosthetic. But nope, he was stuck with actual freaky robot parts, one of the many benefits of being amalgamated with a robot. This stuff wasn’t attached to him, he was fused.  _ Fused. _ Great, now he started to sound like Jacob.

He also couldn’t see very well anymore, at least in the eye that was ‘cybernetically enhanced’. It wasn’t  _ too _ bad or anything, but he just  _ knew _ his vision was different than it was before, though he couldn’t tell why or how, and it bugged him to  _ no end. _

So  _ why _ exactly did he agree to go on this camping trip with Jacob, anyways? It wasn’t like they never did this before, they had, but it almost  _ always _ ended badly. While most camping trips involved roasting marshmallows and telling scary stories, theirs had ended up in being scared for their lives from the alleged Demon Drooler and Buford getting sent to an alternate dimension made of garbage. While it was laughable then, now, it just felt like salt on a several-year-old wound. Why did bad things always have to happen to them? Wait, here’s an even better question, why did bad things always have to happen to  _ him? _

Whatever, the bottom line was that he agreed to go camping with Jacob and it’d be rude to back out now. Who knows, maybe a tornado would hit the ravine or one freak accident of fate after the other and the entire area is engulfed in flames. The cruel irony of it all would be that  _ they’d survive _ , as they always had, but probably not unscratched. Robot him was bad enough, but what about burn scar  _ and _ robot him? As if everyone didn’t alienate Buford enough already, they’d surely alienate him even more.

Why was he so… bitter about life, anyway? His younger-self was used to being different and always enjoyed the attention, he’d probably think being half-robot was really cool! So why did he feel so… just so angry at the world? Maybe it was the robotic side of him, changing his emotions, making him more… upset and moody. He still had a sense of self and didn’t  _ want _ to be so… so volatile, but he just couldn’t help it. Jacob and Renee were probably the only two people who could actually help him reach into his old emotions and let him feel like he used to again.

So maybe this wouldn’t be  _ too _ bad. It was only camping, right? Just go there, talk to your best friend and maybe even feel better about all of the stuff that’s been going wrong in your life. At least you’d be able to feel like your old self again, even if it’s only for a little bit. Maybe… Maybe you’ll be able to feel like your old self… forever?

That’s just hopeful thinking, though, isn’t it? Maybe so, maybe not.

\------

Jacob finished setting the tent up, making sure everything was in place for the night ahead. He wasn’t exactly a pro at this kind of camping set-up stuff, Buford would usually do it instead, but he didn’t want to burden his friend with that responsibility, not with how… bad they’ve been feeling lately. Besides, he was sure that the tent job he did was, at the very least, passable.

Now that Jacob was thinking about it, why  _ did _ Buford say yes? He felt genuinely surprised when the latter agreed to these plans only a few days prior. Why was he though? Maybe it was because of all the ways his friend had changed over the last couple of months, both physically and emotionally.

While Buford had obviously changed physically, he had also turned more… how exactly could one put it? Perhaps distant was the best word. It wasn’t like he had full-blown turned emotionless or anything, but the boy was a far cry from how he was just months ago. It wasn’t just simple ‘maturity’ however. Jacob just knew that being turned into a cyborg had deeply traumatized Buford, as it would do to anyone forced to suffer such a tragedy. The boy just hoped that his friend wasn’t too far gone and that there was at least  _ something _ left of his old friend, the Buford that everyone knew and loved. The old Buford that would’ve immediately jumped at the opportunity to go camping, the old Buford that would’ve-

He heard footsteps behind him, speak of the devil. Or at least Jacob  _ hoped _ it was the devil he was speaking of and not a wild wolf or his twin siblings who wanted to pick on him over something petty. It wouldn’t be the first time that a camping trip took a turn for the worst. Bracing himself, he turned around and almost jumped before realizing that it  _ was _ Buford, he just still was taken aback sometimes by the robotic parts. “H-Hey, Buford, hey!”

“Hey,” Buford replied, shuffling awkwardly. “How… How have you been? Since, uh, you know, yesterday?”

“I’ve been good, good. What about you?”

“I’ve… I’ve been better.”

The awkward silence continued, but Jacob wasn’t exactly sure what he should say next. Back in the olden days, Buford would usually do most of the talking, but now he often didn’t say anything at all, opting to just keep quiet.

Before Jacob could say anything else, however, Buford looked behind him, glancing at the tent. “Sheesh, some craftwork. Okay, okay, that was rude, sorry. The one you made was fine, but it should be bigger and more secure.”

Buford walked over to the tent and dismantled it, while Jacob watched, deep in thought. There it was again, the new and more aggressive Buford peaking through, able to throw in an insult here and there. At least he  _ knew _ it was rude and apologized, right? But what was it that was making Buford act out like this?

By the time Buford was finally done properly setting up the tent, Jacob was thinking of ways on how he could open his friend up more and get the boy to talk, he did seem to act more like his old self when around his friends, it seemed. Maybe this camping trip would do much more than just get Buford outside once again.

“And there.” The boy in question said, stepping back from his ‘creation.’ “At least it won’t have the extremely high risk of collapsing in the middle of the- okay, again, that was rude.”

“No, it’s fine, Buford, honest! You’re right, the old tent was inadequate,  _ really _ inadequate. But I just didn’t want to put that job on you, you know?”

Buford let out a small ‘hmm’ noise but didn’t say anything else, which again, was odd for someone who used to be so talkative. But perhaps Jacob just had to get used to  _ this _ Buford, everyone had to grow up and mature someday. Too bad Buford had to mature the  _ hard way. _

“So what do you wanna do now?” He asked, looking back at the newly refurbished tent. What would they do? During their previous camping trips, Buford would fill the hours telling story after story of his life, but of course, he was silent right now and Jacob didn’t exactly want to force the boy to talk more than he had to.

“I dunno.” Buford picked up a stick, inspecting it with as much interest as he could possibly care to give at that moment. He might’ve been thinking of things to do, just as he might’ve been regretting coming up here, to begin with, and honestly? Jacob couldn’t blame him if he was. 

Suddenly, an idea erupted from the depths of a young and eager mind. “I got it, I got it!”

“Huh?” Buford looked up, wondering what his friend was getting all excited about. “Got what? Did you catch a bug or something?”

“Why don’t I tell stories this time? I know you usually do, but I figured I’d give you a break and do the talking!”

Buford looked at him, quizzically. His red robotic eye glared straight at Jacob, sending shivers down his spine. “You sure, Jacob? Storytelling requires talent, I mean, not that you  _ don’t _ have it, but, I’m being mean again, sorry. I… it sounds like a good idea. Sure, go ahead.”

The brown-haired boy nodded, sitting down by the tent. “Well then, prepare yourself for the greatest storyteller of all time! You know besides you, of course.”

Buford sat down beside him, a small and goofy smile on his half-and-half face. Gosh, it felt like forever since  _ anybody _ had seen that from him. Good, so maybe the young boy  _ was _ getting to his friend, that was great, great! Hopefully, the night would keep going as planned and they wouldn’t ultimately run into another one of Mr. Moleculus’ ploys. That man sure had a skill for getting involved in their camping trips one way or another, like that Blonde song.

\------

As the hours passed, Jacob told his best friend many stories, some true, some he just made up, anything to keep his buddy entertained. At a couple of these tales, Buford let out a soft snort, showing that he was indeed enjoying them, so Jacob kept going, hoping to break his friend more and more out of their robotic prison they seemed to be stuck in.

Eventually, the sun started to sink, replacing the blue sky with a firestorm of pink and purple colors as the two kids sat side-by-side by the campfire, awestruck by the pure beauty. It was simply breathless and even Buford had to admire the beauty, the pure simplicity, and niceness of it all.

“Real pretty, isn’t it?” He stated, both eyes, robotic and not, fixated on the spectacle of calming and soothing colors. Once again, he was starting to feel like his younger self, ever so naive and kind. But how long would it be until the new and ruder Buford snapped back in? He didn’t know and he didn’t want to find out just yet. This was nicer, thank you very much. “Makes you kinda forget about your troubles.”

“For sure, Buford, for sure.”

But there was the nagging voice in the back of Buford’s mind, telling him that while he was feeling this… happy, he should at least try to talk to Jacob, as in, talk to him how he used to. “Hey, Jacob, can… can I talk to you?”

“You’re talking to me right now!”

While a sentence like that probably would’ve irritated Buford, right now, he thought it was really funny and let out a small giggle at his friend’s dad-joke-worthy response. “I mean like talk to you as in a heart-to-heart!”

“A heart-to-heart? A heart-to-heart? Uh, sure, I guess. What’s bugging you, Buford?”

“Oh, you know, this?” Buford pointed at his robot leg, which glistered and glimmered in the dying rays of the sun. “I mean, I know I haven’t really talked about it a whole lot or talked that much at all lately, but right now, I just really feel the need to get this off my chest.”

Seeing that Jacob was listening, he continued. “I…  _ absolutely despise this. _ I mean, I know that’s pretty obvious, but you just don’t… _ nobody understands the level of hate and disgust that I actually feel!” _

He suddenly felt very sad, sick, and gross, as if he’d finally begun to feel every emotion he locked away in the past couple of months. He teared up, covering his face with his hands, but touching the cold hard metal of both his cyborg hand and the cybernetic half of his face only made him feel worse, as he let out a stressed scream of pain and frustration.

Before he could do anything else, however, he felt a sympathetic pat on the shoulder, his human one, looking away to see his friend staring at him, a face of pity and misery plastered all over as if they… somehow knew the exact amount of suffering that he was going through? “It’s okay, Buford, it’s okay. Let it all out.”

Whimpering and blubbering, he held tightly onto Jacob, as if he’d never see his friend again if he let them go. He slid down onto the ravine wall, accidentally taking Jacob with him, but he could honestly care less. All he wanted to do was cry and get everything out of his system., as much as it made his stomach hurt. Despite everything, getting all of this off of his chest was beginning to make him feel better as he could feel himself starting to think with an open mind once more.

“I...I… hate this... “ His voice died as he tried to force himself to speak, his throat burned and ached as he kept forcing words out. “I… I…  _ please don’t leave me.” _

It came out before he could even register what he was saying, but it made him think. Was this why he’d felt so upset these past few months? Was he actually scared that his best friends, no wait,  _ only _ friends would leave him? Maybe that was why younger him was able to go through life so carefree, he knew he had friends who would never leave him, so who cared what everyone else thought? But now, maybe he was scared that this was  _ too _ much for them, even for Jacob. After all, he’d been really… different lately, hadn’t he? Way more negative and distant, nothing like how he was beforehand.

“What?! What?! Buford, why would I ever leave you? Especially now, especially now!” Jacob scooted closer to him and the boy couldn’t help but blush slightly. Even though he might have a metallic torso and heart, he still had the soul of a human, didn’t he? Great, he was seriously crushing on Jacob and only  _ now _ did he realize it. Which would make sense, considering how awful he’d feel if he lost his friends. Nothing would be able to replace them, especially Jacob. But Jacob would never reciprocate the same feelings, right? That was  _ way _ out of the question, Jacob was one to think love was gross and icky and all that jazz.

“I know, I just… I’m just scared.” That wasn’t exactly a lie, Buford was scared, terrified, actually. What exactly did the future hold? What if it wasn’t exactly pleasant and there was only more suffering ahead? He wiped his eyes, trying to clear them of their tears. Well, at least his human eye, cyborg ones, unfortunately, did not have that kind of capability or even tear ducts for that matter. “Scared of the future, like, what does it hold? What if other bad things happen?”

“Can… Can I tell you something, Bufey?” Bufey, that was such an adorable pet name and it made Buford feel even weirder in his partly mechanical and partly flesh body. It wasn’t like this name was never used beforehand, but he had always thought it was meant in the simply platonic kind of way. But under the ever-darkening sky, Buford wasn’t quite sure he knew what that meant anymore.

“Sure… I guess…”

“I don’t really know how to put this and I know what I said beforehand about this kind of topic, but I honestly think I’m deeply in love with someone?” Oh, of course. He had probably fallen in love with Renee, another example of the bitter irony life had dealt out for pitiful and miserable Buford. ‘Play the cards you’ve been dealt with.’ He’s heard that saying time and time again, but what if all the cards you’ve been dealt with were Jokers?

“Oh, uh, that’s great, I suppose. So, who’s the lucky lady? Is it Renee?”

His friend scoffed slightly, before saying some of the greatest words to ever be spoken. “As if! It’s you, silly, you!” 

Time seemed to stop for Buford as the words sunk into his fragile mind and soul. Did… Did Jacob feel the exact same way? Of course not, he probably just misheard him, when did anything  _ ever _ go right for Buford Pugh? But still, there was just a speckle of hope that maybe…

“I mean, you don’t  _ have _ to feel the same way, I just figured that I should tell you how  _ I _ felt since you’re so scared about me leaving you.” Jacob looked away sheepishly, wondering if he should begin to regret sharing this little tidbit of crucial information.

Buford shook himself out of his trace, realizing this was indeed real and he better say something before his best friend and apparently now love interest thinks he doesn’t care. “I… I do feel the same way! I do! Heh, you’re rubbing off on me. But I’m not lying, I do love you as well, I just didn’t think you would too and maybe you’d think it was weird or something! In fact, I didn’t realize I felt this way until like ten minutes ago! Perhaps… Perhaps I didn’t think I had the capability to feel those kinds of emotions in this stupid metal body. But that’s obviously not true, huh?”

Jacob put his hand on Buford’s robot leg and looked up at him with that same kind and understanding smile that he always had, looking straight at his face without even flinching or grimacing at the deep red android-like eye. “You  _ always _ had the capability to feel love and feelings, Buford, always, you were just too caught up in your worries and trauma to realize that. Besides, I think I realized I was in love with you when… when I almost  _ lost _ you.”

“When you almost…  _ Oh. _ Do you mean when all  _ this _ happened?”

The boy nodded, trying not to think about _that awful_ _day_ , though it was hard not to. “Yea, that day. I know I shouldn’t be bringing it up, especially around _you,_ but you honestly have no idea how scared I was. How _scared_ I was! I… I never thought I’d see you again and… and…”

Buford could tell Jacob was close to tears as he recounted everything that transpired and he felt slightly guilty. It was technically  _ his _ fault that they even got into this situation and while Greedyguts was the real mastermind behind everything, he was the one to fall for Greedyguts’ trap, hook, line, and sinker. It was pretty obvious now that while he was undoubtedly the one who got the most hurt out of everyone involved in this truly horrible revenge scheme, that didn’t mean everyone else was completely fine! His friend was about to cry over his mistakes and he didn’t know what to do! Unless... 

He scooped Jacob up with ease, super-strength was one of the many actual perks of being a cyborg, and gave his new love the biggest kiss he could muster and Jacob nigh instantaneously kissed back, making this very first smooch between these two newly-founded lovers even sweeter.

Despite all of the bad things that had happened in their lives, neither of them cared, at least not right now. All that mattered were that they were together at this very moment and nothing would break them apart. Eventually, they broke apart, grinning like two doofuses in the pale moonlight.

“Sorry that I made you worry, Jacob.” Buford snickered, head still reeling from the fact that this was  _ actually _ happening, _ he had actually just kissed Jacob and he liked it. _ In fact, he  _ loved _ it, more than anything else.

“It’s alright, Bufey, it’s alright.” There was that pet name again, but this time it was obvious that it  _ wasn’t _ in the platonic sense, the complete opposite, actually. “Besides, I think has been our best camping trip yet, what do you think?”

Buford let out a genuine and child-like laugh, one that nobody had heard from him in several months. “Yea, I would say so. But don’t get too cocky yet, my  _ love,  _ you never know what the night has planned!”

“You mean like a midnight kiss?” Jacob smirked, though he knew  _ exactly _ what Buford was talking about. “I wouldn’t worry about it too much, though,  _ sweetie.  _ Whatever happens, happens, but we’ll get through whatever, together.”

“Together.” 

Buford was feeling better than ever, a new sense of purpose and hope was ignited within him, all thanks to his then friend, now technical boyfriend, Jacob Two-Two. While he knew not everyone would be so accepting of him, he had people who were, people he would never give up for anything in the world and people who would never give  _ him _ up either.

Never ever.


End file.
